Blockade of Afghanistan, NATO Convoys, Continues

The Afghanistan Foundation (AF) expressed
cautious optimism about the military and security situation
in Afghanistan following the two-day visit to the country of
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta last week. Concern
about the ongoing closure of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border
to NATO/ISAF supply convoys, and the deadly ambushes of
scores of NATO fuel trucks in Pakistan, continue to put a
damper on Afghanistan’s prospects for political and
economic stability.

“The recent visit of U.S.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to Afghanistan earlier
this week sends an important and high-level signal regarding
America’s, and the international community’s, ongoing
effort to bring security and stability to the country and
region,” said Philip Smith, Executive Director of the
Afghanistan Foundation in Washington, D.C.
http://www.afghanistan-foundation.org

“Many
policymakers in Brussels, Washington, D.C., and Capitol
Hill, are concerned, however, by the ongoing closure of key
border checkpoints, and NATO/ISAF supply routes, by
Pakistan’s military following the unfortunate and tragic
attacks that resulted in the deaths of numerous Pakistani
Army soldiers last month,” Smith continued. “Without
the reopening of the border between Afghanistan and
Pakistan, so that U.S. military and NATO/ISAF forces can be
re-supplied in a cost-effective and timely fashion, the
prospects for Afghanistan’s security, and the Karzai
government, remain difficult and increasingly bleak.”

Smith stated: “As a clear result of recent
unprecedented developments and deepening concern, on
Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives froze some $700
million in American foreign assistance to Pakistan out of
alarm regarding the deteriorating Afghanistan and Pakistan
relationship and America’s counter-terrorism efforts in
South Asia.”

“When, if ever, will the Pakistan
Army and the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agency allow
trucks into Afghanistan to re-supply the U.S. military and
NATO/ISAF forces ?,” Smith questioned. “Clearly,
Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and
ISI Director General Lt General Shuja Pasha, have expressed
their deepest concern and regrets about the tragic deaths of
the 24 Pakistan soldiers last month along the Afghanistan
border and are, therefore, moving forward very cautiously
with the interests of Pakistan at the forefront.”

“The slated withdrawal of ISAF/NATO forces by 2014
remains increasing problematic in terms of Afghanistan’s
future economic and political security, if the Khyber Pass
and other border supply routes continue to be closed, and
more NATO supply and fuel convoys continue to be ambushed
and destroyed in large numbers in Pakistan,” Smith
concluded.

Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta spoke to American soldiers at Forward Operating Base
Sharana, a military installation in Afghanistan's eastern
Paktika province. He expressed the view that the United
States, with its military forces deployed in Afghanistan,
was helping to win the war with its ISAF allies.

Pakistan continues to insist that deadly NATO attacks on
two border posts, along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border,
were deliberate. At least 24 Pakistani soldiers were
reportedly killed by NATO/ISAF forces on November 26 causing
Pakistan to seal the border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Army is reportedly considering a plan to
potentially re-open the border crossing points to
Afghanistan, including the Khyber Pass, whereby it would
impose a hefty tax on fuel and trucks transporting supplies
to U.S. and NATO/ISAF forces there.

On Wednesday,
after debate, the U.S. House of Representatives froze some
$700 million in American assistance to Pakistan.

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